Search for driver after woman hit on golf course

Officers are continuing to search for a driver and two passengers after a woman was hit by a van on a golf course following a police chase.

Police said the woman, aged in her 60s, remained in a critical but stable condition after the collision at Aston Wood Golf Club, Little Aston, on Friday morning.

Staffordshire Police added the occupants of the grey Nissan van "ran off" and remained at large.

The van was followed by West Midlands Police officers following reports of suspicious activity, said the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC), which is investigating.

The IOPC said officers in two patrol cars began following the van in Kingstanding, Birmingham, on the border of Staffordshire and Sutton Coldfield, at about 10:15 BST.

They stopped following the vehicle when it came off the road and went up an embankment on the golf course, where it hit the woman, the IOPC added.

An IOPC spokesman said on Friday its investigation was in the "initial stages".

"We can confirm we are independently investigating West Midlands Police's involvement prior to a road traffic collision in Staffordshire, earlier today, following which a member of the public has sustained serious injuries," they said.

"Officers followed a short time later, on foot, and gave first aid to the woman, who was then taken to hospital for treatment for life-changing injuries."

Staffordshire Police, which is carrying out inquiries with West Midlands Police, appealed for anyone with information or recorded footage from the area at the time to get in touch.

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